Joint Cooling does not Hinder Athletic Performance during High-intensity Intermittent Exercise.

We examined the effects of ankle and knee joint cooling on 20-m sprint times and maximal vertical jump heights during high-intensity intermittent exercise. 21 healthy collegiate male basketball (n=14) and handball players (n=7) underwent 3 experimental sessions. Each session consisted of four 15-min quarters of high-intensity intermittent exercises including various intensities of 20-m shuttle running and jumping. A 20-min bilateral joint cooling (ankle, knee, or control-no cooling: in a counterbalanced order) was applied before quarters 1 and 3. After joint cooling, no warm-up activity other than the exercise protocol was given. The 20-m sprint times and maximal vertical jump heights in each experimental session were recorded at baseline (prior to quarter-1) and during each quarter. To test joint cooling effects over time, we performed 3×5 mixed model ANOVAs. Neither ankle nor knee joint cooling changed 20-m sprint times (F8,280=1.45; p=0.18) or maximal vertical jump heights (F8,280=0.76; p=0.64). However, a trend was observed in which joint cooling immediately decreased (quarters 1 and 3) but active warm-up for approximately 20 min improved 20-min sprint times (quarters 2 and 4). Our study suggests that athletic performance such as sprinting and jumping are not altered by joint cooling applied prior to or during high-intensity intermittent exercise.